Super Special Super Bowl Edition 🏈 Part 2

Nibbles and Bites Issue #4: Just Wing It

Crispy wings lacquered in a honey and chili crisp glaze, sprinkled with sesame seeds and chives

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Welcome to part two of my super spicy, super special recipe weekend where everything is served in a bowl! I’ll stop with the bad jokes before I get carried away.

I’m truly addicted to chili crisp. The deep umami flavors of the fermented black beans, seaweed and mushroom powder in Fly by Jing’s chili crisp are my favorite, and I’ve tried many different varieties. I work through this stuff quickly - I’ll add it to eggs, avocado or mushroom toast, dumplings, noodles, salmon rice bowls, you name it. I’ve also seen it used as a topping for ice cream sundaes, which I’ve honestly never been brave enough to try, but it’s tempting!

In the second recipe of this weekend, I combined my love for the tingly, numbing sensation that comes from Sichuan peppercorns in chili crisp with wings, America’s favorite dish for one of the most sacred days of the year, the Super Bowl. The chili crisp provides heat that is perfectly balanced out by honey, creating wings that are perfectly glazed and oh so glossy.

🚨Chef’s Tip 🚨The trick to achieving particularly crispy wings is starting with very dry chicken. If you want crispness without deep frying and have the time, you should pat your chicken wings down with paper towels and place them on a plate in the fridge for a few hours beforehand. That said, drying the wings in the fridge is definitely optional and can be skipped if you’re in a rush.

I will also have you coat the wings in both salt and baking powder to draw out some of that additional moisture. The baking powder gives the wings the texture of being deep fried, ensuring that the skin comes out blistered, crackly, and bubbly. It also helps to ensure the meat is tender. The wings then roast in a low oven for 20 minutes before the temperature is raised even higher for the rest of the bake time. I promise you, they’ll come out of the oven so good and begging for some sauce!

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Honey & Chili Crisp Glazed Wings

Ingredients: 

2 lbs chicken wings, flats and drumettes

½ tsp kosher salt

4 tsp baking powder

⅓ cup honey

3 tbsp chili crisp plus extra for serving

1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari

1 bunch of chives, thinly sliced

1 tbsp white sesame seeds

Instructions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place the chicken on a paper towel lined plate and thoroughly pat dry. Place the wings into a large mixing bowl and add the salt and baking powder. Stir to combine until evenly coated. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 40 minutes. 

2. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it cool for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the honey, chili crisp and soy sauce in a small pot and place over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until cooked through.

3. Place the wings into a large mixing bowl and coat with the honey-chili sauce. Place on a serving platter and top with even more chili crisp and a generous shower of scallions and sesame seeds.

I hope everyone has a stellar Super Bowl weekend filled with plenty of delicious food and drink. Since my last newsletter (yesterday), I’ve jumped on a plane to LA in search of some good eats, adventures with friends, sunshine, and new freckles. I hope to come back with a face full of them, but we’ll what a single week will do.

Until next time - happy eating!

Kristen